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Saturday, October 14, 2017

Steve Wozniak, who co-founded Apple with Steve Jobs, is launching a new online tech education platform he’s calling Woz U, which is designed to promote technology jobs and the skills required to enter the industry. Over time, Wozniak hopes to expand the initiative to include as many as 30 physical locations around the world and courses on everything from software engineering and information technology to mobile app development and cybersecurity, among others. It’s unclear whether courses will be offered for free, or whether Woz U plans on charging for any element of the online education platform. The website does not say.

Woz U also offers access to tech companies interested in using the tools and resources provided to recruit and train employees. The platform will be available to students K-12 through partnerships with school districts too. Down the line, Woz U wants to offer one-on-one instruction to students and, later on, to offer its own accelerator program for prospective startup founders. The overall goal is to increase interest in what Woz U calls STEAM careers, or science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics, with the addition of arts presumably a nod to Wozniak’s role at Apple and fellow co-founder Steve Jobs’ lifelong mission to blend technology with the humanities.

WOZ U DOESN’T SAY HOW MUCH ITS ONLINE COURSES WILL COST STUDENTS

“Our goal is to educate and train people in employable digital skills without putting them into years of debt,” Wozniak said in a statement. “People often are afraid to choose a technology-based career because they think they can’t do it. I know they can, and I want to show them how. My entire life I have worked to build, develop, and create a better world through technology and I have always respected education. Now is the time for Woz U, and we are only getting started.”

There are no pricing details on any of the existing or planned features. There is, however, already a mobile app out with some introductory courses, and you can also “enroll” in Woz U starting today, though it’s unclear what exactly that entails beyond submitting a few bits of personal contact information. The whole enterprise seems polished enough, although it should be noted though that Woz U’s initial partner is the for-profit Southern Careers Institute, based out of Austin, Texas. So don’t expect everything in Woz U to be free.

Friday, October 13, 2017

Lenovo teased a bunch of new Moto Mods at Mobile World Congress this year, including one with Amazon's Alexa assistant built in, and another that can instantly print smartphone photos. Yesterday, VentureBeat reporter Evan Blass gave us another look at the Mods, the first since Lenovo's announcements. Notice the slight Polaroid branding on the photo printer.

We knew the Alexa Mod would for sure be released, but the Polaroid Mod wasn't as definite because Lenovo teased it as more of an experiment. Brazilian blog Technoblog also posted an image of the mod last month. It looks essentially the same as Blass' render:

We can guess these might be released soon, maybe even in time for the holidays. While I love the idea of turning any modular phone into an instant camera, I also recognize that carrying this mod around could be heavy and somewhat arduous. We also don't know how many photo sheets it can hold, so presumably, you'll have to carry special paper around, too. That's a lot to ask just to print some photos.

Washington — The Trump administration on Friday rejected a capital increase by the World Bank, which the Bank says is necessary to expand its global anti-poverty mission.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the huge Washington-based institution is inefficient and can be more effective in the nearly $60 billion in development finance it currently allocates each year.

Through greater efficiency, the bank can internally build its capital base and expand lending without the need for more contributions from its 189 shareholder nations — of which the United States is the largest.

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He also said, in a statement to the Development Committee, which sets the action program for the bank and the International Monetary Fund, that the Bank needs to cut funding for emerging economies that don’t need significant outside assistance.

And he said that the bank needs more budget discipline, including controls on staff pay and benefits.

“More capital is not the solution when existing capital is not allocated effectively. Demand for cheap capital will invariably exceed its supply — the key is to ensure that these resources are deployed where they are needed most and can achieve effective and sustainable results,” Mnuchin said.

Without naming any specific country, he suggested that those relatively strong and developed beneficiaries of the Bank’s programs like China, which has over $3 trillion in foreign reserves, no longer need its support.

“We want to see a significant shift in allocation of funding to support countries most in need of development finance, including through a credible application of the World Bank’s graduation policy,” he said.

For wealthier borrowers, the Bank would be better sharing its expert knowledge rather than deploying development loans, he said.

“While we appreciate the Bank’s effort to curtail spending through its expenditure review, we see scope for further budget discipline, especially with respect to compensation and the Executive Board budget,” he added.

The statement rebuffed World Bank President Jim Yong Kim’s plans to increase the Bank’s capital resources, and came as the administration of President Donald Trump pulls back from global agreements in a number of areas.

This week Trump announced the US pullout from Unesco, the United Nations educational and cultural agency. He has halted two major trade pacts and has forced the renegotiation of a third.

It is a season of awards for main cloud infrastructure solutions issuer, IPI solutions, which bagged the Microsoft CSP Partner of the Year Award.

In recent time, the agency has been swimming in award recognitions each at the nearby and worldwide scene. A latest one got here from Silicon Review Magazine, a United States-based totally media proper.

The modern-day award turned into presented to company on the FY18 Microsoft Nigeria Partner kickoff event in Lagos and came at the eve of the company’s arrangements to release a collection of new answers built across the Microsoft cloud era.
According to the sponsor of the award, it commonly acknowledged partners which have demonstrated highest level of excellence in turning in particular cloud solutions around Microsoft era space and furnished the best revenue to cloud-related answers for the monetary yr.

Hence, IPI Solutions become recognised among pinnacle companions for demonstrating excellence in innovation and implementation of client answers based totally on cloud era.

Speaking on the achievement, Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft, Satya Nadella, said, “Digital generation is impacting all components of our society and economies, developing unheard of opportunity for organisations of all sizes. I’m positive and stimulated through the ingenuity of customers, partners and builders anywhere that are pushing the frontiers of what’s feasible with mixed fact and artificial intelligence infused throughout Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365 and Azure, to transform and feature effect inside the global.”

Receiving the award, Chief Operating Officer of IPI Solutions, Mr. Chris Emeka said, “We are elated via this feat and I will want to say that our success is hinged on our particular technique to business which centers on competency, getting the right result for the consumer, in no way supply-up disposition, our expert crew as a united pressure, and our awareness on what we recognize how to do fine.”

The FY18 event signaled the beginning of 2018 business year for Microsoft which has gone through big modifications, both in awareness, route and method on allowing digital transformation for a better society.

The occasion also afforded it the opportunity to proportion the strategic modifications inside the Partner panorama, new priorities, and direction with the partners from everywhere in the u . S . A .. The occasion additionally featured attractive periods, expertise the FY18 imaginative and prescient, a way to offer the great answers to customers and honour awesome achievers from the past monetary yr.

The over $1 billion Nigerian 2nd hand market has showed to be growing, as a document submitted via a leading on-line labeled, Olx similarly attests to Nigerians, penchant for previously-owned items.

In a new report submitted by the organization, as part of activities to mark its 5th anniversary in the market, the firm recorded as much as N12.1 trillion used items dealings on its platform in 2016, which in line with it, the parent became anticipated to bounce better given the ability within the market.

According to the agency, the figure, almost twice the market capital for Snapchat similarly underscores the strong place of secondhand market supplying inside the united states.
Analysing the document in addition, Country Manager of Olx, Lola Masha, said it intended that during 2016, one used item turned into being posted on the platform each 30 2nd on the market. “We currently receive over 2.8 million visits a month and we're looking ahead to a increase on this discern over the imminent months. This file reflects Nigerians cognizance of the second-hand fee in their possessions.

“The document takes a better examine each class revealing a few thrilling figures about Nigeria’s secondhand marketplace. For instance, the financial cost of cell phones published the platform in previous yr really worth over N6.5 trillion, that is equal to four and half of of the arena’s largest gold bars, even as the cost from the house, furnishings and lawn class totaled N44.Three billion.

“The most high-priced mobile telephone posted on the web site turned into a Nokia Vertu for N950,000, while the maximum high-priced vehicle became a pre-owned 2015 Private Jet Bombardier worth N5.5 billion,” she stated.

“The record no longer most effective shows the vast price of the second hand marketplace however also demonstrates the high quality effect on-line classifed has on the Nigerian economy. This is a concrete demonstration of our brand essence, ‘Everybody wins’.

“As sellers win once they sell gadgets they not need at decrease costs, Buyers additionally win after they purchase objects at wonderful reductions and the community wins as this change leads to increased circulate of cash in the neighborhood economic system.” Masha stated.

The adoption and use of the Country Code Top Domain name (ccTLD), Nigeria’s .ng, is on the upward swing, as the figure hits 100, 000.This statistic was given yesterday by the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA), when the management team paid a courtesy visit to Rutam House, headquarters of The Guardian newspapers.

The increase witnessed in the adoption of .ng may have shown a gradual decline in the patronage of foreign domain names by individuals and businesses in Nigeria, which has been the norm for years and had subsequently, resulted in increased capital flight from the economy.

Countries around the world strive to promote their respective domain systems in order to retain substantial part of the Internet expenditure in-country.NiRA team, led by the President, Sunday Folayan, informed that Nigeria’s .ng ranked second largest after South Africa, which has about one million registered .za.in Africa.

Folayan, who described NiRA as one of the best successes and story of Public Private Partnership in Nigeria, said the new data showed an improvement in the number of domain registrations, stressing that Nigerians have re-strategised in their plans for promoting their online business and hence there is improvement in the domain name count.

The NiRA President commended The Guardian for championing the course of .ng in the country, especially, as it relates to adoption and several print privileges that the domain name has enjoyed through the platform.

Speaking more on the .ng adoption, Head, Business Development, NiRA, Mrs. Kemi Adepoju, said the association is doing everything possible to further populate its use in Nigeria, which include promotions, use of youths as ambassador, to identify and convince companies not using the domain name to adopt it; use of the social media platforms to passage messages and enlighten the public.

The Chief Operating Officer of NiRA, Mrs. Edith Udeagwu, informed that Nigeria will be hosting this year’s African Network Information Center (AFTERNIC) open public policy meetings from November 27 to December 4th in Lagos. AFTERNIC is the regional Internet registry (RIR) for Africa. It hosts two open public policy meetings every year in various locations throughout its service region.

Udeagwu, who disclosed that Folayan doubles as the Chairman of AFRINIC board, informed that several issues that borders on Internet Protocol (IP) development, especially migration from IPv4 to IPv6 will be discussed, where experts will sensitise on what Nigeria and other African countries must do to migrate as fast as possible to avoid Internet blackout.

Giving more insight on the dangers of not migrating, Head, Technical Department, Abubakar Muhammed, Nigeria must do everything possible to avoid Internet shut, saying that the consequences are dire.

Muhammed said the AFTERNIC conference will be opening another vista in Internet development across the world, “so Nigeria must not be left behind in adoption.”

Folayan added that the AFTERNIC meetings provide unique opportunities for Internet-related individuals and organisations to gather and to discuss the policies governing Internet number resource distribution in the African region. The meetings, he added, would serve as platforms to share technical knowledge, and to attend workshops and tutorials.

Tech has been on a tear, striking another uncomparable high on weekday, but one bargainer is card-gambling over $50 million that the rally could be coming again to accomplice degree end over some 52 weeks to come. Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft and Alphabet conjure 40 % of the NASDAQ a hundred ETF — the QQQ. As those faculty critical hitters nevertheless soar, they need propelled the ETF up over twenty 5 % this yr and accessorial a combined marketplace cap of $774 billion.At least one choices bargainer is skeptical that that momentum would possibly maintain.In one large eyebrow-raising trade within the week, anyone bought seventy six,000 of the Gregorian calendar month 2019 a hundred thirty five-strike places for $6.60. Since every area preference debts for a hundred shares of inventory, that'sa over $50 million guess that the QQQ can fall under $128.Forty by Gregorian calendar month 2019 expiration — overthirteen % underneath Friday's mercantilism worth. A downswing of this value might area the ETF in correction and marketplace territory."That variety of hobby is pretty interest-grabbing. This is some meaty top class [and] lengthy," RiskReversal.Com's Dan Nathan aforementioned Thursday on CNBC's "Fast coins.""This [chart] encompasses a quite strong base … let's have a look at what profits do, if it breaks it out extra," Nathan defined.According to Nathan, this specific trade may well be "a hedge against an extended portfolio of some of those principal college shares."The remaining time the NASDAQ saw this type of pass and entered correction territory was in early 2016. The index fell eighteen % between Dec 2015 and Gregorian calendar month 2016, a month as soon as markets were loosely decrease.The QQQ turned into mercantilism on the $148.38 vary noonday weekday.

Thursday, October 12, 2017

I was awaytaking some vacation days last week so I have two weeks worth of sales data for you this time out. A lotof good things happened in the aftermarket while I away was including a blockbuster7-figure saleI just confirmed today. In that one veteran domain investor/broker Larry Fischer(GetYourDomain.com) closed a$1,200,000sale of MyWorld.comfor sellerAnything.com. That is one of the five biggest sales reportedso far this yearand the fifth to break the seven-figure barrier. That is not new territory for Larry, an industry pioneer who has been involved in an extraordinarily large number of high end transactions. The vast majority of those have never been made public due to non-disclosure agreements.

In another nice sale, Kate Buckley at Buckley Media Group (representing the seller) and Amber Burke at Flippa.com (representing the buyer) worked together to complete a $225,000 deal for Agenda.com. That ranks among the 20 biggest sales so far in 2017. Kate (who now has three of the year's 20 highest sales to date) also wound up with two of the six biggest sales on our latest weekly all extension Top 20 Sales Chart by adding another $42,500 for Labiaplasty.com.

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By Ron Jackson

The week's biggest five-figure sales share both a keyword (actually a key number in this case) as well as the #3 position on the Big Board. Clark Siegelin at DomainProducts.com sold Wealth365.com for $60,000 while NameJet banked the same amount for the week's top ccTLD sale - 365.tv. Clark holds one of the world's biggest collections of prime "keywords+365" domains (numbers like 360, 247 and 24 are also popular with .com investors who have used this kind of pattern to rack up sales). Siegelin (who used Sedo's escrow service for this sale) said this was the highest price paid to date for a keyword+365 domain.

Another NameJet sale - Everex.com at $50,205 rounded out the first five. After that three-letter .coms took center stage with eight names filling over half of the remaining slots. NameJet racked up all eight of those with a group led by #7 BEF.com at $39,000. That run helped the .coms sweep 15 of the 20 chart entries.

The remaining five spots on the leader board all went to country code domains - a group that is continuing to have a very solid year. Nidoma.com and GritBrokerage.com each accounted for two of those charted ccTLD sales. Nidoma scored with #14 Park.it ($29,090) and #17 Take.it ($23,801) while Grit rang up $25,000 for #15 Sequence.co and $22,500 for #20 Urban.co.

That left no room for the non .com gTLDs this week though the category did have two five-figure sales that are included in the more than two dozen additional sales in that range that are listed after the Top 20 Chart below.

Here is how the sales leaders stacked up for the two weeks ending Sunday, October 8, 2017:

Keep in mind that these are the highest value cash only sales that have been reported to us in the past week. This column is meant to be an educational tool, not a complete list documenting ALL high value domain sales. Such a list is impossible to produce because many sales are kept private at the insistence of buyers, sellers or both. Our procedure for verifying the accuracy of domain sales reports is available here.

NameJet led the .com supporting cast of four figure sales withCityMap.com at $9,975 and Atlantia.com at $9,886. Another $8,800 sprouted from ISpring.com while Dotcoms.com corralled $8,108 and BitFX.com found $7,999.

The ccTLDs had another excellent outing piling up 11 five-figure sales led by the year's third biggest country code sale to date - 365.tv at $60,000 via NameJet. All of those five-figure sales were listed in the all extension section above, so the biggest sale in this group that you haven't seen yet is #12 on our latest weekly ccTLD Top 20 Sales Chart. That is Sedo's $9,999 sale of Guts.es.

Sedo went on to sweep 12 of the 20 chart entries. Nidoma has the next highest total with four, including #13 Gelateria.it at $9,996. KeywordDomains.com followed with a nice IDN sale - #14 ÖLE.de at €7,500 ($8,925).

The extension race wound up in a dead heat with Germany's .de and Italy's .it each claiming four chart entries. Here is how the country code leaders stacked up for the two weeks ending Sunday, Oct. 8, 2017:

If there are country code extensions in our report that you are not familiar with, you can look up the nation each extension goes with here.

Non .com gTLDs (.net, .org and others, including new gTLDs)

The non .com gTLDs weren't as fortunate as the other categories with only 14 sales reported for this group over the past two weeks. Two of those reached five figures - Clinical.net at $10,710 via Nidoma and NFC.net at $10,000 through Sedo - to top our latest Non. com gTLD Top Sales Chart.

The .nets made it three straight with NameJet's $5,700 sale of #3 ThemeCircle.net. Rounding out the first five are BeatBullying.org ($5,601 at NameJet) and a new gTLD, Coins.exchange, at $5,000 via GoDaddy.

While the .nets got off to a fast start, the .orgs came from behind to win the extension race with six chart entries - one better than the .nets. Here is how the non .com gTLD leaders stacked up for the two weeks ending Sunday, Oct. 8, 2017:

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Steve Wozniak, who co-founded Apple with Steve Jobs, is launching a new online tech education platform he’s calling Woz U, which is designed to promote technology jobs and the skills required to enter the industry. Over time, Wozniak hopes to expand the initiative to include as many as 30 physical locations around the world and courses on everything from software engineering and information technology to mobile app development and cybersecurity, among others. It’s unclear whether courses will be offered for free, or whether Woz U plans on charging for any element of the online education platform. The website does not say.
Woz U also offers access to tech companies interested in using the tools and resources provided to recruit and train employees. The platform will be available to students K-12 through partnerships with school districts too. Down the line, Woz U wants to offer one-on-one instruction to students and, later on, to offer its own accelerator program for prospective s…